University of Tennessee Athletics
UT Harriers Begin 2012 At Belmont Opener
August 30, 2012 | Track & Field
Aug. 30, 2012
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - For the third straight year, the Tennessee men’s and women’s cross country teams will begin their campaign at the Belmont Opener, returning to Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday evening.
The women’s 4000-meter will begin at 5:30 p.m. CT and the men’s 5000-meter will follow immediately after.
Last year, the Vols finished third in the meet, led by then-senior Chris Bodary who finished second overall. He was followed by Jeremy Dickie, who finished 17th in a career best time, and Jake Rainey, who finished 20th. Both Dickie and Rainey return this year for the Orange & White.
The Lady Vols finished fifth last year, led by then-senior Brittany Sheffey who finished fourth overall. Scoring second on the team was former Lady Vol Ramzee Fondren, immediately followed by Kelsey Kane and Lizzie Cornell. After a track season marked by constant improvement both indoors and out, Kane returns this season for the Lady Vols’ cross country squad.
In addition to Rainey and Dickie, returners to the team include sophomore Austin Whitelaw, who finished 32nd at the Southeastern Conference Championships last season and juniors Stephen Derlath and Alex McCandless, among other Vols. Lady Vol returnees include Cornell, Amirah Johnson, and Amber Zimmerman, who finished 26th at the SEC Championships.
Newcomers to the program include Chelsea Blaase, an Illinois’ State Champion last fall and Alexis Panisse, who was the first female runner from New York City to qualify for the Foot Locker High School National Championship.
On the men’s side, newcomers include Mike Libruk of Watervliet, N.Y., and Jack Little of York High School, both of whom have high school 5K personal-bests below 16 minutes.
Whitelaw, Rainey, Zimmerman and Panisse were all tabbed to the SEC’s 2012 Preseason Watch List.
After a week of training, the squads are back in action in the state capital on Saturday, Sept. 15, for Vanderbilt’s Commodore Classic.
